Regional Preview: 4A
The high school season is wearing down here but Regionals are coming in hot and heavy. We are ready to take a look at all the matchup, breaking each of them down and getting ready for one of the best…
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Continue ReadingThe high school season is wearing down here but Regionals are coming in hot and heavy. We are ready to take a look at all the matchup, breaking each of them down and getting ready for one of the best days of the year.
Regional #1 – Michigan City
Matchups:
Penn vs. Chesterton
Northridge vs. Munster
Players To Watch:
Jake Wadding – 6’4 SF 2020 – Chesterton
Chesterton is a very good team, but still pulled a surprising win over Valpo. Wadding is their best player and if they are going to do it again, they will need him to step up. He’s got enough size to be a good defender and that might be key to help shut down Penn’s guards. If he can impact and slow down their offense, Chesterton might be able to grind out another win.
Jevon Morris – 6’1 PG 2019 – Munster
Munster has been great this year. They need to get through the first game with some momentum as their offense was just okay in Sectionals as they stayed around the 50’s on offense. Part of that is built around their guards. Morris is the senior leader on this team and if he can kind of ignite a little more pace and opportunity, Munster is capable enough of getting through to the next round.
Prediction:
Penn over Munster
Penn has been built to take this group all the way. They are a heavily senior-led group with guards that can really shoot, and a pair of posts that provide versatility and toughness. They have the toughest path trying to take down Chesterton and Munster but even if these games become more of grinders, Penn can play that style pretty well but are also capable of blowing teams out of the water. Munster could and very well might pull the upset but it will be interesting game, regardless.
Regional #2 – Logansport
Matchups:
Carmel vs. Northrop
Huntington North vs. Zionsville
Players To Watch:
John-Michael Mulloy – 6’10 PF 2019 – Carmel
The key for Carmel is to keep doing what they have been doing and this season their most consistent, highest-impact player, has been JMM. He’s also a guy that causes mismatches and is scoring and rebounding at a great level. Against any of these three teams, they will be trying to figure out how to take him out of the game and each has size and could, in theory, disrupt him. If he continues to do his thing, I think Carmel keeps going.
Isaiah Thompson – 6’0 PG 2019 – Zionsville
The biggest knock on Zionsville this year has been their lack of depth at guard. So, that means that they need to execute with the guards they do have and the obvious one is Thompson. If he can stay out of foul trouble and knock down threes, which he is excellent at, Zionsville will be in any game they have the rest of the year. He just can’t have an off game because at this stage of the season, not sure if Zionsville can overcome that.
Prediction:
Carmel over Zionsville
This should be a rematch of the first game of the season for these two teams in which Carmel dominated and walked away with a win. Now, Northrop has upset teams all year but Carmel scouts and game plans better than any other team as well as executes that plan so it will be difficult. Zionsville has the more difficult matchup as Huntington North is very capable, especially after their win over Homestead, of taking them down. But, until they pull it off, Zionsville is the better team on paper, just not sure they will be able to get past Carmel.
Regional #3 – Southport
Matchups:
Avon vs. New Palestine
Lawrence Central vs. Ben Davis
Players To Watch:
Wendell DeMyers – 6’4 SG 2019 – Avon
One of the players that has taken off at just the right time, Wendell DeMyers is playing his best ball of his career right now. The 6’4 wing is a difference maker on both ends of the floor but his offensive production has really taken off in the second half of the season. You want to shut down Avon, you need to stop Wendell.
Jalen Windham – 6’5 SF 2019 – Ben Davis
While you could make the case for a lot of players here, Windham seems like a big key for Ben Davis. He’s their best offensive weapon and his shooting is the one way they can keep up with LC. They need to have some things go their way, get some lucky bounces but one of those 30+ point outings from Windham will at least put them in position to win the game.
Prediction:
Lawrence Central over Avon
I think it would be foolish to pick against Lawrence Central right now. They are the most talented team in the tournament and just knocked off Warren Central. They also beat Ben Davis earlier this year by 15 points and they are 22-3 on the season. They don’t lose often and seem to have locked in lately. Avon has played well enough to get past a really talented New Palestine team but still not sure at their best, you would pick Avon to upset LC. Not saying it can’t happen but LC is just so good this year.
Regional #4 – Seymour
Matchups:
Jasper vs. Center Grove
Bloomington South vs. Jeffersonville
Players To Watch:
Spencer Piercefield – 6’0 PG 2019 – Center Grove
With how bad their offense was in Sectionals, they need to reverse course as badly as any team in Regionals. To do that, they need their best senior guard to step up and make shots. They need to run, and knock them down, and look like as good of a team as they are. Piercefield is a really good playmaker, a really good shooter. They need him to be those thing the rest of the year.
Connor Hickman – 6’2 SG 2021 – Bloomington South
While many will lock in on Anthony Leal, I think he will be able to handle his own. The problem is that Bloomington South isn’t particularly deep with offensive weapons so they need Hickman to be right there with Leal. Give this team at least two big time scorers and they can make it through to the next round.
Prediction:
Bloomington South over Center Grove
This is another Regional that could go so many different ways. Center Grove and Bloomington South are the two best teams but CG played so poorly in Sectionals, Jasper could knock them off if they come out like that again. Jeffersonville seems to be locked in and playing their best right at crunch time. But going off of the most likely scenarios, Bloomington South knocking off Center Grove seems the most likely but only barely over pretty much all the other possibly outcomes. Nothing is shocking me in this Regional.